presbyterian

[prez-bi-teer-ee-uhn, pres-]

adjective

1. pertaining to or based on the principle of ecclesiastical government by presbyters or presbyteries.

2. (initial capital letter),  designating or pertaining to various churches having this form of government and professing more or less modified forms of Calvinism.

noun

1. (initial capital letter),  a member of a Presbyterian church; a person who supports Presbyterianism.

Presbyterian

¹

/ ˌprɛzbɪˈtɪərɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to any of various Protestant Churches governed by presbyters or lay elders and adhering to various modified forms of Calvinism

noun

1. a member of a Presbyterian Church

presbyterian

²

/ ˌprɛzbɪˈtɪərɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating Church government by presbyters or lay elders

noun

1. an upholder of this type of Church government

Other Word Forms

• non-Presbyterian adjective
• pro-Presbyterian adjective
• pseudo-Presbyterian adjective
• Presbyterianism noun
• presbyterianistic adjective
• presbyterianism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of presbyterian¹

First recorded in 1635–45; presbytery + -an

Example Sentences

In a tell-all letter addressed to the South Lake Tahoe community, Mayor Tamara Wallace confessed on Monday that she “took funds” from the city’s Presbyterian church after a prolonged “mental health crisis,” according to the letter published by the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

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“I am publicly admitting that I took funds from the Presbyterian Church over an extended period,” Wallace wrote.

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The South Lake Tahoe Presbyterian Church and representatives for the city could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Born in 1952, the 72-year-old was the 27th son of the chief of Ayod and Leer and was brought up in the Presbyterian Church.

Read more on BBC

One of them is James Talarico, a Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian who announced a run for the United States Senate in the Lone Star State against GOP Sen. John Cornyn the day before Kirk’s assassination.

Read more on Salon